Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy leaves an outstanding first impression but after playing it for a handful of hours, you'll realise that it doesn't really offer enough exciting gameplay to last its entire campaign. It's still a wonderful game to watch, though.

Guardians keeps you strapped in for the ride, and while it does dip once too often, the emotional highs outweigh the patience-testing lows. [Issue#366, p.108]

Where Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy proves most winsome, however, is in its twining of the intergalactic and the terrestrial.

Clever writing, fun gameplay and a deeply charming cast of characters goes a long way, but Guardians of the Galaxy is otherwise a tad too long, too noisy and too unpolished.

Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal ends up becoming an even better Guardians story than the two blockbuster films combined.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a solid original story from Eidos Montreal that deviates from both the MCU and the comics, providing something for Marvel fans across mediums to enjoy. However, while it’s certainly a step up from publisher Square Enix’s Avengers, it suffers with its own notable bugs and glitches that detract from the on-screen action. The day one patch will hopefully tackle these problems, and if so this is a highly recommendable superhero game that doesn’t quite step it up like Insomniac’s Spider-Man series, though still does right by its unlikely group of misfit anti-heroes.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has some rough edges, but its solo team play mechanics are a perfect match for the dysfunctional superhero family.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy absolutely nails the vibe and look, even if the middling story, technical issues, and repetition hold it back from being truly great.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't feature an engaging combat system, save for the moments where the team huddles provide a loose connection to the much more engaging narrative theme of the strength of communication. The game instead shines via its storytelling, which is enhanced by a talented collection of voice actors and a wonderful soundtrack. If this game is your introduction to the titular heroes, it's not the best first impression, but sometimes when the galaxy needs to be saved, you can settle for good enough.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy as a video game is a bit simple and repetitive, but still, it offers a funny, often moving, epic musical adventure with a smart Telltale-like narration.

At the end of the day, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is everything I wanted it to be. There’s classic Guardians snark, bickering, and epic fight scenes scored with tunes from my youth. It just needs a little more polish to make it really sing.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a fun trip across the galaxy alongside comics' most famous motley crew. Eidos Montreal totally nailed the tone of this one and it's a pleasure to watch and hear the team evolve over time. The game's dialogue is very well written with some genuinely funny lines (and great voice acting). All the while telling a touching story. We just wish the game's combat would have been a bit more inspired and polished.

Much like the characters themselves, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a really funny mish-mash of ideas and concepts with some working better than others. At its best, the campaign is strong with well-produced cinematic cutscenes, likable characters, gorgeous environments and an action romp that excites when everything is in sync. On the flipside, the pacing of combat stops things from getting into a solid rhythm until later in the game, and I much preferred my time solving puzzles or platforming while enjoying the epic story. When so much of your journey will be spent in combat, that’s a bit of a shame. Despite some quirks, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a super-fun superhero adventure that hits more than it misses, with a banging soundtrack and a lot of personality that more than makes up for its shortcomings.

Guardians of the Galaxy coasts by quite a bit on personality, and that's definitely going to make it divisive.

It gets the tone and characters right enough that Marvel-heads will want to see this story 6 through, but make someone else play it while you munch popcorn. [Issue#8, p.78]

Simplistic, repetitive interactions drag on an otherwise engaging story based on the Marvel franchise.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is actually better when you’re not playing it: everything it does to get you onside with its quippy humour, its sharp story-telling, and its endearing characters, it loses in clunky, laborious combat, some appalling pacing, and baffling design decisions. It’s a damn shame that one of the best stories of the year – with some seriously impressive voice work and mo-cap – is tainted by a game that feels like it just doesn’t want to be played.